But Tanaka didn't survive the second inning May 14 against the Astros, who just got through knocking around Red Sox starting pitching for 16 runs in 11⅔ innings over four games. "There's really not a weakness on either side".

The Yankees threw 4,826 pitches 95 miles per hour or higher, the most in the AL.

If the Yankees win: They will steal away home-field advantage and make life much easier than it was in the division series. Often, their first pinch-hitter off the bench is Carlos Beltran, a future Hall-of-Famer with 435 career homers. He got to the World Series once, in 2013 with the St. Louis Cardinals when they lost to the Boston Red Sox in six games.

"Extremely talented offensively", Girardi said of the Astros.

You like to base these things on some sort of deep analytical stuff, but ... In 17 at-bats, Judge has only hit into play four times, including just one home run. Keuchel enters Friday's game with a sterling 1.24 career ERA against the Yankees, which is best among active pitchers with at least five starts against them.

Keuchel won the AL Cy Young Award in 2015 when he went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA before struggling last season, with a 9-12 record and 4.55 ERA. He joked that the lefty will probably feel better when he takes the mound and sees players in Yankees uniforms.

Keuchel shut out NY over six innings in the 2015 AL Wild-Card game and his 1.41 regular-season earned run average against the Yankees is the best of any starter in the last 60 seasons with a minimum of six starts.

"It's just been a culmination of command, location, maybe a little more confidence", Keuchel said of his success. "I don't think who the names are or who the jersey is, he knows he can get anybody out in the league".

"It is a little insane", said McCann, the 33-year-old catcher who was traded by the Yankees to Houston last winter. Every member of that quintet ranked among the top 12 relievers in baseball this season in strikeout rate, with Betances - who isn't being used in high-leverage spots these days due to command issues - leading the way, at 15.08 whiffs per nine innings. He's 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA in the postseason. "There's a lot of weapons down there for Joe [Girardi] to use, and our players know that".

Chatter about Girardi's future in the Bronx has been muffled since the Yankees became only the 10th team to win a best-of-five series after dropping the first two games. Adam Eaton ranks first (.426). We're about to find out.

What happens when two large, immovable objects are slammed against each other at terminal velocity?

Real estate agent's courageous shark rescue caught on camera
Hatheier said the shark was "stressed" because it was trapped between the rocks, separated from the ocean and his natural habitat. So I said, 'I think I can just grab him'. "All in a day's work for a local real estate agent! " says another.

Marshall finished for the season
Darius Powe is on the team's actual depth chart on their website , but he was signed to the practice squad to replace Rudolph. The Giants want Beckham to be a Giant for life - co-owner John Mara has declared this desire, more than once.

Challenges galore for Rahul Gandhi
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and state party chief Mahendra Nath Pandey were present on the occasion. Khakhi shorts were a trademark RSS uniform for drills, worn with pride by many BJP icons.